Her Movie Reviews

I have to admit, J.J. Abrams can make an action movie! And he can also take a dead series and bring some new life into it.  He did a fine job with Mission Impossible 3 and after viewing Star Trek, he did a great job with this series as well.  Now released on DVD this past week, Star Trek takes the space traveling of the old TV show and tells the origin of the infamous sci-fi crew.  The movie is about a rebellious young man named James T. Kirk that is destined to become the captain of the greatest star ship (The Enterprise) to have traveled the universe.  This film starts at the beginning, chronicling the rise of the main characters that command the ship.  Filled with big action fight sequences and an intriguing story, this movie not only stands alone well but I would say meets or exceeds the expectations of even the biggest Trekkie. Now, I am a little young to have actually watched the original show, but I do remember watching a bit of The Next Generation.  And so when watching this movie, I brought with me someone that grew up watching Kirk and Spock explore brave new worlds each night on TV – my dad.  And I have to say, we both walked out of the movie very pleased.  I, the new kid, enjoying the story told by Abrams and the movie as it stands alone.  My dad, a veteran of the show, remembering and musing over the ‘inside’ jokes placed into the film that were lifted from the original series.  It was a fun time had by both of us.

Watching it again, at home and on DVD, I have to admit a bit was lost from the original experience.  This is one of those big budget action movies that is just monumental in the theater.  It is good on the small screen, but no where near the excitement of the big screen. The good thing about it is I wasn’t bored the second go around.  I still enjoyed the movie and watched it through.  And like in the theater, the most interesting part of the film has to be Spock.  It has been a role that has pretty much defined Nimoy’s life. To see that this might be the last time you see him as Spock, it seems like a happy/sad farewell.  But I think having Zachary Quinto take over the role is a great decision and hopefully Nimoy more then approves. Quinto plays a great Spock and it helps that he looks exactly like a young Leonard Nimoy in the film. I hope to see him more as the series becomes renewed in Pine and Quinto. Oh and just a random observation, I have decided that through looks alone, Chris Hemsworth (George Kirk) looks more like William Shatner than Chris Pine. But I’m not the casting director. If you have seen Star Trek already, check it out again, it’s worth the rent.  If you haven’t seen it, pick it up for an exciting film.  And like me, be ready  to catch the sequel in the theater.

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